A seventh place ranking out of 388 councils on climate action, alongside park and ride schemes placed second in the country for customer satisfaction, are among the highlights of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s progress on its commitments to residents over the past year.

The corporate strategy 2023-2027 was brought to cabinet at the Guildhall on June 6. The report shows a year’s worth of data and points to how the council has delivered against its purpose to improve people’s lives.

The report comes as Bath & North East Somerset Council has been named as a finalist in the Most Improved Council category at the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards. The nomination recognises how the council has improved people’s lives in Bath and North East Somerset through delivering its corporate strategy.

One of the key priorities of the corporate strategy is to support vulnerable adults and children. In 2023/24 it supported more than 1,800 people in adult social care settings, over 200 looked-after children, 2,230 children on education, health and care plans and 141 children on child protection plans.

The community wellbeing hub also opened an outreach base at Bath’s Royal United Hospital to provide extra support for people being discharged, receiving 1,803 referrals in 2022/23.

To help deliver the council’s priority of the right homes in the right places, 50 affordable homes have been made available for residents.

More than 400 Ukrainian guests have been welcomed under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, reflecting the strength and generosity of local communities in Bath and North East Somerset.

Measures to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies included being the first in the country to adopt an energy-based net zero policy for new housing developments. The council also introduced emission-based parking charges in Bath to improve air quality. The council introduced the first charging clean air zone outside of London, which is having a real and positive impact on air quality locally.

Councillor David Wood, deputy leader and cabinet member for council priorities and delivery, said: “I welcome this report which highlights the scope of the council’s work and the far-reaching impact we have on people’s day-to-day lives. Our Corporate Strategy spans four years but we are measuring the council’s performance year on year, this being the first review of how it is delivering against our key objectives.

“There are continuing financial challenges that are being felt by the council and our communities, however we have successfully continued to deliver a wide range of direct services to residents that improve lives. I am particularly proud of the work we are undertaking to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.”

The report also notes that in 2023/24 the council has:

  • Resurfaced 115km of highway
  • Carried out 1,139 food hygiene inspections
  • Processed and decided on more than 1,800 planning applications
  • Planted 1,423 trees on council land